Surprise! Knoxville area receives 3 inches of unexpected snow

A City of Knoxville truck spreading a snow melting agent collided with a car on Montvue Rd at Gleason Rd. Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the snow storm. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL)

The good news is that skies should be clear Wednesday.

The catch is that much of the snowfall that landed with a surprise across East Tennessee on Tuesday isn't going anywhere, as local temperatures aren't expected to top the mid-20s Wednesday.

A rare mass of moisture rolling in from the Gulf of Mexico met with bitter cold air Tuesday morning to quickly outpace the chance of flurries initially forecast. The precipitation froze to roadways almost immediately throughout Knox and surrounding counties, snarling traffic, shuttering businesses early and stranding students on school buses as officials belatedly canceled classes.

"When I went to bed last night, after watching the late news, it wasn't forecasted," Knox County Schools Superintendent Jim McIntyre said Tuesday evening as he faced criticisms from parents for not having called off classes earlier. "We look at that information and all the information we have and make the best decision we can."

In some cases, school buses were forced to return to school, leaving students to be picked up by their parents or ferried home by sheriff's deputies.

Altogether, the Knoxville area received nearly 3 inches of snow by Tuesday night.

"Snow is difficult to forecast, especially in East Tennessee," said meteorologist Jerry Hevrdeys, with the National Weather Service in Morristown.

Knox County officials opted to launch a limited activation of its Emergency Operations Center adjoining the E-911 Center, according to Adam Lawson, director of the Knoxville/Knox County Emergency Management Agency.

The Knoxville Police Department and the Knox County Sheriff's Office implemented a snow plan and only responded to crashes involving injures.

Motorists caught in simple fender-benders were told to exchange insurance information, but otherwise were left on their own.

The Knoxville Fire Department relied on four-wheel drive vehicles to answer first-responder calls, such as medical emergencies, although even that wasn't enough in some cases — one KFD heavy rescue truck responding to a possible house fire still became stuck on an icy Scenic Drive in Sequoyah Hills where roads were virtually impassable.

Tennessee Department of Transportation crews readied their salt trucks early Tuesday morning in anticipation of the winter storm, and still struggled not to become overwhelmed as the area received nearly double the forecast snowfall.